“You’d feel mighty bad then,” responded Teddy, as he thought of the horses that he and Fred had brought with them from the West.
At this moment, his attention was attracted by a movement on the part of the boy they had rescued. They had sheltered him as much they could, but they could not prevent an occasional dash of spray from striking his face and this had hastened his awakening. This time, his eyes were lighted with intelligence, and it was clear that he had largely recovered from the effect of his immersion.
Teddy bent over toward him.
“How are you feeling?” he asked with a friendly smile.
“Better,” was the response in a faint voice. “I can’t remember yet, though, just what happened to me.”
“A big wave threw you overboard,” broke in Bill. “We happened to be cruising near by, and we picked you up.”
“I guess I must have hit my head against something when I went over,” said the stranger. “I don’t remember a thing that happened while I was in the water. Did I swim?”
“You seemed to be swimming a little,” said 20 Teddy, “but I guess it was more instinct than anything else. You went down before we got to you. But you’d better not talk any more just now. We’ll be on shore before long I hope, and then we’ll tell you all about it.”
“There’s the shore now,” called out Bill in accents of relief, as he pointed to a long dark line ahead of them.
On the right it seemed to be sandy and level, but a little to the left there was a rocky elevation, against which the waves broke with a thunderous roar, sending back sheets of crested foam.